P-3 Mission Summary Qing Wang, Djamal Khelif, Dave ...met.nps.edu/~qwang/DYNAMO/DYNAMO_P3_Mission_Summary.pdf · 1 P-3 Mission Summary Qing Wang, Djamal Khelif, Dave Jorgensen, Anthony

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P-3 Mission Summary

Qing Wang, Djamal Khelif, Dave Jorgensen, Anthony Bucholtz, Christopher Zappa, Patrick Chuang

Revised February 2013

1. Overview

The overall objectives of the NOAA WP-3D (P-3) field campaign in DYNAMO are to address the basic science questions/hypotheses regarding air-sea interaction and tropical convection with its unique standalone suite of measurements, and to bridge observations from fixed locations on ships and islands. Measurements from the NOAA P-3 include flight level state and thermodynamics variables, turbulence and high rate temperature and water vapor perturbations, cloud microphysics, atmospheric radiation, surface IR/Visible imaging of SST and waves, and convective activities from the vertical-scanning Doppler radar and the fuselage horizontally scanning radar. Measurements from the NOAA P-3 also include air expendables such as GPS wind-finding dropsondes, Airborne eXpendable Bathy Thermographs (AXBT) and Airborne eXpendable Conductivity Temperature and Depth probes (AXCTD) for atmospheric and oceanic profiling.

The P-3 science team arrived at Diego Garcia on Nov 3 followed by the arrival of the NOAA P-3 and its crew on Nov. 9. We conduct a total of 12 flights between Nov 11 and Dec 13, 2011 with 10 science focused flights with average duration of about 10 hours, an initial test flight of about 3.5 hours, and the final flight of 4-hour duration for instrument calibration and inter-comparison. The remaining of the P-3 science team and the NOAA crew exited Diego Garcia on Dec 14, which marked the conclusion of the DYNAMO P-3 field campaign.

Two major science foci of the P-3 project include air-sea interaction and tropical convection in different phases of the MJO. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate flight tracks for flights with respective focus. The boundary layer and air-sea centric flights occurred mainly near Diego Garcia and near the R/V Revelle, while the convection-centric flights occurred over a broader region within and outside of the southern DYNAMO Array (SDA) due to the varying nature of convective targets. Because of the common interests of both air-sea interaction and convection to sample near convective activities, most flights included some sampling for the partner objectives when conditions were appropriate. In addition, most of the transit time to and from the on-station area was designed to sample large-scale variability using dropsondes with co-located dropsonde/AXBT/AXCTD launches. All together, P-3 DYNAMO flights over the Indian Ocean total to about 104.5 hours out of the total 105 science hours. On January 13, 2012, AOC conducted a final P-3 flight for wind and Riegl lidar calibration, which effectively completed the measurement phase of DYNAMO aircraft component.

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In addition to flight level measurements, air expendable sensors, such as dropsondes, AXBTs, and AXCTDs were important components of the P-3 based measurements. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the time and location of all dropsonde and AXBT/AXCTD launches, respectively. In total, we launched 466 dropsondes, 314 AXBTs, and 114 AXCTDs during 12 flights of the P-3. Most of the dropsonde launches were processed on the flight and uploaded to GTS. Most of the AXBT launches were processed during and immediately after each flight and were uploaded to The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to be incorporated into the US Navy's ocean forecast model and upload to GTS. It is yet to be explored on how to upload AXCTD data to GTS.

Figure 2. Flight track of convection centric P-3 missions during the DYNAMO P-3 field campaign.

Figure 1. Flight track of boundary layer centric P-3 missions during the DYNAMO P-3 field campaign.

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Figure 3. Dropsonde locations for each P-3 flight.

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Most of P-3 based instruments functioned normally during the field phases with a few scattered problems with individual instruments or with the data system. The exception is the Step Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) for surface wind, which is designed to measure higher wind speed winds and did not give reliable results for the entire DYNAMO project due to the relatively weak winds in the tropics. Because of the late arrival of the CADs (small explosives for launching AXBT externally) due to custom issues, external AXBT launches above 10,000' were not possible before Nov 23 and were not feasible for some of the later flights because of the complications involving handling of explosives. As a result, some of the large-scale survey legs did not include AXBT drops when dropsonde launches from altitudes higher than 10,000' became essential. The AXCTD launches experienced ~30% failure rate under normal operating conditions, which did not improve despite all efforts in adjusting factors that may affect launch results (e.g., aircraft speed and altitude at which buoys were launched). Most of the 'failed' soundings were recovered through extensive efforts in post-processing.

All data have been backed up with multiple copies. The flight level data from NOAA are now available with revised data variable information. Dropsonde data have been QC'd by EOL

Figure 4. AXBT/AXCTD locations for each P-3 flight.

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and are available to DYNAMO users. Potential users are encouraged to contact instrument PIs regarding current status of their data QC and possible collaboration.

2. Summary by Flight Day Table 1 provides a quick overview of all P-3 flights including the mission objectives, a short description of activities during the flight, take-off and landing time, science modules done in each flights and the time spent performing each module, and the number of dropsondes, AXBTs and AXCTDs used. In the description column, a "D", or "D/B", or "D/B/C" in the parenthesis following the path of a large scale survey denotes the survey was done with dropsonde only, dropsonde with AXBT, or dropsonde with AXBT and AXCTD, respectively. A list of abbreviations used are given below the table, and illustrations for some of the major modules are given in the appendix.

Table 1 Summary of all DYNAMO P-3 flights.

Flight ID/date

(yyyymmdd) Objective Description

Take off -Landing

time (UTC)

Modules (minutes)

Drop- Sonde BT/CTD

20111111 Instrument and operation test

test of flight level sampling, dropsonde, BT/CTD, and radar NW of DG; convection sampling NW of DG

07:03 - 10:34 1 RCE (21) 5 4/2

20111113

Large-scale SST/Moisture gradient and air-sea interaction close to Revelle

large-scale sampling DG to Mirai (D/B), Mirai to Revelle (D), and Revelle to DG (D/B); BL sampling west of Revelle

03:12 - 12:34

1 FVS (53),1 FFM (71), 2 LSS (229) at 10000', 1 LSS (106) at 25000', OH (117)

49 46/4

20111116

Large-scale Moisture variability and convection

South of DG for convection, large scale survey west of DG (D/B), towards center of SDA (D), center of SDA to Gan (D), and Gan to DG (D), Dropsondes near SPol

04:06 - 13:02

1 FFM (56), 1 RCE (43), 3 MP (14), 1 LSS (97) at 10000', 3 LSS at 25000' (114), 1 FD (16), 1 Gan dropsonde (24), OH (182)

55 24/16

20111119

BL in suppressed phase with small cumulus, large-scale variability

BL towards center of SDA, large-scale variability from center of SDA to DG (D)

03:43 - 12:29

5 FVS (371), 1 LSS at 25000' (53), 2-level turb legs along the track (116)

16 9/17

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20111122

Multiple convective systems in onset phase of MJO and large scale variability

Convective sampling at the equator midway between Gan and Revelle, large-scale between N-S median of SDA (D), diagonal of SDA, and near DG (D)

02:06 - 12:08

1 RCE (44), 2 FLX (101), 3 MP (16), 1 LSS at 10000' (90), 2 LSS at 25000' (129), 1 FD (14), 1 RB (34), OH (191)

51 20/11

20111124

Multiple convective systems in onset phase of MJO

Convection southwest of Revelle, large scale variability along the Revelle, Gan, and DG triangle (D), dropsondes near SPol

01:28 - 11:17

2 RCE (102), 1 FLX (39), 1 MP (11), 3 LSS 25000' (186), 1 FD (22), 1 Gan drop (12), OH (234)

57 7/2

20111126

Large-scale SST/Moisture gradient and air-sea interaction close to Revelle

BL over Revelle, large-scale transits diagonal of SDA in the morning and afternoon (D/B/C)

03:15 - 12:53

1 FVS (65), 1 FFM (68), 2 LSS at 10000' (248), 2 FD (35), 1 RB (32), 1 SI (40), OH (106)

33 37/21

20111128

Wind and thermodynamics variability and air-sea interaction in variable cloud conditions during active phase

BL sampling in moderate westerly wind condition E and SE of DG

02:07 - 11:22

1 FVS (48), 1 FFM (102), 1 DAS (88), 1 DCE (55), 1 SI (96), OH (181)

35 28/15

20111130

Spatial variability in precipitating convective systems

convection S of DG near 14OS

01:36 - 11:33

1 DCS (93), 1 RCE (44), 1 FLX (51), 1 MP (10), 1 DCE (218), 1 SI (26), OH (170)

58 18/4

20111204

Wind and thermodynamics variability and air-sea interaction in variable cloud and moderate wind conditions, DG island effect

BL sampling NE of DG 02:02 - 12:07

2 FVS (145), 1 FFM (103), 1 SI (103), 1 DAS (93), LSS (173)

43 51/4

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20111208

To observe 3D structure of convective systems in coordination with Falcon and Spol

Convection S of Gan, dropsondes at SPol, large-scale survey between Gan and DG (D/B partially)

04:27 - 12:11

5 RCE (164), 2 LSS (124), 1 FD (24), 1 Gan drop (11), OH (157)

54 17/0

20111213 Instrument calibration and intercomparison

Near DG 03:09 - 07:37 12 26/10

Flight Module Abbreviations: FVS: Flight-level Vertical Stack; FFM: Flight-level Flux Mapping, LSS: Large-Scale Survey; RCE: Radar Convective Element; DAS: Dropsonde Areal Survey; DCE: Dropsonde Convective Element; FLX: mini flux after RCE; MP: Microphysics; FD: Flat Descent (radiation); SI: Surface Imaging; RB: Riegl Boresighting; OH: OverHead (time to transit between modules, ascents/descents, etc).

Location Abbreviations: DG: Diego Garcia; SDA: Southern DYNAMO Array

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3. Instrument and Data Processing POC

Table 2: DYNAMO P-3 instrument and data processing POCs

Instrument PI In-Flight Operator Data processing/QC

POC

NOAA data system Dana Naeher (AOC) Dana Naeher (AOC) Ian Sears, and Jessica Williams (AOC)

1_Hz flight level state variables, navigation, thermodynamics

Dana Naeher (AOC) Dana Naeher (AOC)

Ian Sears, Jessica Williams (AOC), Qing Wang (NPS), and Djamal Khelif (UCI)

High-bandwidth Turbulence/wind/water vapor/temperature

Djamal Khelif (UCI) Djamal Khelif, Jesus Ruiz-Plancarte (UCI)

Djamal Khelif, Jesus Ruiz-Plancarte (UCI)

Tail and lower fuselage radars

Dave Jorgensen (NOAA NSSL)/ S. Chen (RASMS) Dave Jorgensen (NSSL) Dave Jorgensen (NSSL)

Dropsondes Qing Wang (NPS)/S. Chen (RASMS)

Todd Richards and Bill Olney (AOC) for all dropsonde launches, Chia-Ying Lee and Falko Judt (RASMS) for on-flight ASPEN processing and GTS upload

Kate Young and Junhong Wang (EOL) for data QC, Qing Wang (NPS)/S. Chen(RASMS), and Junhong Wang (EOL) for future data processing

AXBT/AXCTD Qing Wang (NPS)

David Trampp, Corey Cherrett, and Heather Hornick (NPS), Charles Ziervogel (ONR), Michael Witte (UCSC), Todd Richards and Bill Olney (AOC)

Qing Wang (NPS)

Riegl Surface Waves Scanning Lidar and OXTS RT3003 INS/GPS unit

Djamal Khelif (UCI) Djamal Khelif, Jesus Ruiz-Plancarte (UCI)

Djamal Khelif, Jesus Ruiz-Plancarte (UCI)

Surface Imaging IR / Visible cameras Chris Zappa (LDEO) Scott Brown and Chris

Zappa (LDEO) Scott Brown and Chris Zappa (LDEO)

IR and solar radiation Anthony Bucholtz (NRL) Dana Naeher (AOC) Anthony Bucholtz (NRL)

Cloud Physics Patrick Chuang (UCSC) Dana Naeher (AOC) Patrick Chuang (UCSC)

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4. P-3 Field Experiment Participants

Last Name First Name Affiliation Role Sponsoring

Agency

Wang Qing Naval Postgraduate School

Lead PI, air-sea and boundary layer ONR, NSF

Khelif Djamal UC Irvine PI, air-sea and boundary layer ONR Chen Shuyi University of Miami PI, convection ONR, NOAA,

NSF Jorgensen David NOAA NSSL PI, convection NOAA Bucholtz Anthony Naval Research Lab PI, radiation ONR Chuang Patrick UC Santa Cruz PI, cloud physics ONR Zappa Christopher University of

Columbia PI, air-sea ONR Meitin Jose NCAR EOL Project support NSF Moore James NCAR EOL Project support NSF Hornick Heather Naval Postgraduate

School Ph. D student, dropsonde/AXBT ONR

Cherrett R. Corey Naval Postgraduate School

Ph. D student, aircraft in situ data ONR

Trampp David Naval Postgraduate School M.S. student, AXBT ONR

Ruiz-Plancarte Jesus UC Irvine Science staff, air-sea and

boundary layer ONR

Lee Chia-Ying University of Miami Ph. D student, dropsonde/convection

ONR, NOAA, NSF

Judt Falko University of Miami Ph. D student, convection ONR, NOAA, NSF

Witte Michael UC Santa Cruz Ph. D student, cloud physics ONR Brown Scott University of

Columbia Ph. D student, air-sea ONR

Kerling Jeffrey Naval Oceanographic Office AXBT support ONR

Ziervogel Charles Office of Naval Research Project support ONR

5. Acknowledgements

The P-3 science team would like to acknowledge the NOAA AOC management and crew for their efforts in bringing this field project together. In particular, we'd like to thank project managers Jim McFadden, Paul Flaherty, flight directors Ian Sears and Jessica Williams, P-3 commander Mark Nelson and pilots Chris Kerns and Justin Kibbey, navigator Devin Brakob, Science Crew Chief Dana Naeher and all AOC engineers and technicians who spared no effort to make sure the measurements sought by the science team become a reality. They are indeed a major part of the success of the P-3 measurement campaign. We'd also like to thank the Navy

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and Air Force support personnel based at Diego Garcia for all their assistance before, during, and after the field project, which were crucial to the implementation and success of this project.

Panagiotis Raptis (NPS contractor) and Kurt Nielsen (NPS) helped generate the flight tracks and satellite overlay imageries used in this report. Jeff Hawkins at the Naval Research Lab, Monterey, provided the high-resolution satellite imageries.

The P-3 measurements were jointly supported by NOAA and Office of Naval Research (ONR). AXBT/AXCTD measurements were supported by ONR. The dropsonde project was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF).

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6. Appendix:

Appendix A: Major Flight Modules

Boundary layer modules:

Figure A1. (a) Side view of flight level vertical stack (FVS) module for boundary layer turbulence flux profile sampling. (b) Side view of flight level cross-section (FCS) profiling module. Full module was not executed in DYNAMO due to time constraints (c) Top view of flight level flux mapping (FFM) module. FCS was only executed partially on Dec 13 due to flight time limitations.

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Convection Modules:

Due to time constrains that did not allow full execution of the FFM sampling under convective activities, a modified combination of RCE and FFM modules were designed during the field phase as a RCE-FLX module. At times, near cloud base passes for microphysics measurements were also added to this module (green curved arrows):

Figure A2. (a) Dropsonde Cloud Survey (DCS) to sample the larger scale aspects of the convective systems. Leg lengths are adjusted based on the extent of the precipitation shield or 208 K contour on IR satellite imagery. (b) Radar Cloud Element (RCE) flight module for Doppler radar documenting of convective features. Dropsondes along the back to front leg are every 3 minutes (~21 km spacing) until the convective line is penetrated.

(a) (b)

Figure A3. Modified RCE+FFM module that was used in some of the early flights

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Dropsonde Modules:

Appendix B: Cloud conditions, flight track, flight modules, and expendable deployment by flight

In this section, there are sets of figures used to show the measurements and the cloud conditions for each flight. There are three pages for each flight. The first page has three or four figures showing the flight track overlain onto visible satellite cloud images at the beginning, middle, and the end of each flight to indicate the evolution of cloud conditions during each flight. Here, the location of the P-3 at the time of the satellite image is shown as a red dot on each figure with the local time (UTC+6 hour) shown next to the symbol. A brief description of the cloud conditions and the flight are given on this page as well. The next page has two figures showing the time-height and 3-D plots of the flight track overlain with various color-coded major flight modules used on this flight. The last page shows the time, altitude, and location of the dropsondes, AXBTs, and AXCTDs of each flight in time-height view as well as 3-D view.

Figure A4. (a) Top view of gridded dropsonde area survey (DAS) module. Altitude is high as possible. (b) Top view of the DCE module consisting 4 15-minute legs (108 km in length) separated by ~3-min short legs.

(a) (b)

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Flight 1, November 11, 2011

On this first P-3 flight, the DYNAMO operations box area featured generally clear tropical skies with scattered cumulus clouds and some patches of high cirrus cloud from R/V Revelle southward to R/V Mirai. A disorganized convective line extended from west of Diego Garcia northeastward toward GAN. This test flight operated several transits across the convective area northwest of Diego Garcia. The flight summary notes that the line appeared to weaken during the day until the return landing.

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5 6 7 8 9 10 110

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF01 , 20111111 legs

flightRCE

7072

7476

7880

-8-6

-4-2

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

RF01 , 20111111 legs

DG

Revelle

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightRCE

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5 6 7 8 9 10 110

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000RF01 , 20111111 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

7072

7476

7880

-8

-6

-4

-2

00

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF01 , 20111111 expandables

Diego Garcia

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 2, November 13, 2011

P-3 performed a transit along the southern boundary of the DYNAMO domain from Diego Garcia to R/V Mirai dropping dropsondes and AXBTs along the way at 10000'. It continued from R/V Mirai to R/V Revelle at higher altitude with only dropsonde deployment. Air-sea sampling modules were made west of R/V Revelle before the P-3 made a transit from R/V Revelle to Diego Garcia with dropsondes and AXBTs along the way. The visible satellite imagery for this day reveal generally clear, fair weather cumulus cloudiness, and the sun glint pattern suggests surface layer winds roughening the sea but dropping off along and north of the line Gan to R/V Revelle. The P-3 operated in a region of entirely clear sky.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF02 , 20111113 legs

flightFFMFVS

72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81

-10

-5

00

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF02 , 20111113 legs

DG

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightFFMFVS

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72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81

-10-8

-6-4

-200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

Revelle

longitude (deg)

RF02 , 20111113 expandables

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000RF02 , 20111113 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 3, November 16, 2011

On this flight, the ops box appeared broadly covered with convective cells in a large area centered over Diego Garcia extending eastward to just north of R/V Mirai. The northern half of the ops box (on the midday visible imagery) appeared generally cloud-free with some small cumulus cells. The sun glint pattern off the sea surface suggests very light wind speeds in the boundary layer.

The P-3 operated in both the convective region near Diego Garcia with a transit to about 12S, breaking out the southern edge of the convective area before turning back north. Flight summary notes stratiform “bright band” apparent above the flight level and some turbulence. P-3 continued northward out of the convection toward GAN, gaining altitude to drop sondes and BTs, only noting few small convective cells on the return to Diego Garcia. Several dropsondes were released around Gan before the P-3 made a dropsonde transit from Gan to Diego Garcia.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

2000

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4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF03 , 20111116 legs

flightRCEFFMFlat Descent

7274

7678

80

-8-6

-4-2

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

RF03 , 20111116 legs

DG

Revelle

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightRCEFFMFlat Descent

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7274

7678

80

-10-8-6-4-200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

longitude (deg)

Mirai

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

RF03 , 20111116 expandables

Revelle

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

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7000

8000RF03 , 20111116 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 4, November 19, 2011

The ops box on this day was between organized convection areas (a large region to the west and smaller area just between R/V Revelle and R/V Mirai. Observer onboard the P-3 noted extensive cirrus coverage over the ops box underlain with cumulus cloudiness. P-3 flew several vertical stacks in and above the cumulus boundary layer to the northeast of Diego Garcia into the middle of the ops box, dropping sondes on return to Diego Garcia. Small showers from cumulus and more cumulus and precipitation were noted towards the center of the DYNAMO domain.

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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF04 , 20111119 legs

flightFVSFVS2FVS3FVS4FVS5

72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80-8-6

-4-20

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Mirai

Revelle

RF04 , 20111119 legs

longitude (deg)

Gan

DG

Hei

ght (

m)

latitude (deg)

flightFVSFVS2FVS3FVS4FVS5

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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000RF04 , 20111119 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80-10

-5

00

1000

2000

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7000

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Mirai

Revelle

RF04 , 20111119 expandables

longitude (deg)

Diego Garcia

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 5, November 22, 2011

The DYNAMO ops box on this day was generally within a region of broken cumuliform cloudiness without significant cirriform overcast. Broken, occasionally strong convection, was noted between Gan and R/V Revelle. The P-3 first made a dropsonde pass through a transition region between mid-level dry to moist air and then made extensive sampling for convection before swing by R/V Revelle and transited back from R/V Revelle to Diego Garcia.

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

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6000

7000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF05 , 20111122 legs

flightRCE-FLX 1RCE-FLX 2Reigl BoresitingFlat Descent

72 74 76 78 80

-8-6-4-20

1000

2000

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4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

DG

RF05 , 20111122 legs

latitude (deg)

Revelle

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightRCE-FLX 1RCE-FLX 2Reigl BoresitingFlat Descent

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

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6000

7000RF05 , 20111122 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

7274

7678

80

-8

-6

-4

-2

00

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF05 , 20111122 expandables

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 6, November 24, 2011

On this Flight, extensive high, middle and lower cloudiness covered the Indian Ocean from the DYNAMO operations area northeastward. There was extensive westerly winds at low levels feeding into the vigorous convection underway about 120 km west of R/V Revelle where the P-3 performed convective modules in the convection and stratiform precipitation before exiting westward toward GAN, the “upwind” environment.

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

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7000

8000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF06 , 20111124 legs

flightRCE-FLX 1RCE-FLX 2Flat Descent

72 74 76 78 80

-8-6

-4-2

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF06 , 20111124 legs

DG

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightRCE-FLX 1RCE-FLX 2Flat Descent

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000RF06 , 20111124 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

-5

00

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Mirai

Revelle

RF06 , 20111124 expandables

longitude (deg)

Diego Garcia

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

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Flight 7, November 26, 2011

On this flight, the entire DYNAMO operations area can be seen within a broad area of upper level cirrus “exhaust” cloud streaming NE-to-SW across the area. Although the cirrus cloud streams remain broken and the overall ops box can be seen generally free of cloudiness, some convective towers are apparent with their anvil clouds being strongly sheared southwestward by the upper level wind flow.

The P-3 made transits to and from the vicinity of the R/V Revelle, making concurrent dropsonde and AXBT/AXCTD measurements. Air-sea sampling modules were made near R/V Revelle, an area that appeared mainly overcast with varying amounts of upper level cirrus. A few small shower cells are noted in the log for this day.

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF07 , 20111126 legs

flightFVSSFCFFMReigl BoresitingFlat Descent

72 74 76 78 80-8

-6-4

-2

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Mirai

Revelle

longitude (deg)

RF07 , 20111126 legs

DG

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightFVSSFCFFMReigl BoresitingFlat Descent

35

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500RF07 , 20111126 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81-10

-5

0

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Mirai

Revelle

RF07 , 20111126 expandables

longitude (deg)

Diego Garcia

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

36

Flight 8, November 28, 2011

The entire DYNAMO ops area was blanketed by organized cloudiness and convection that extended broadly from the area east of the line R/V Revelle-R/V Mirai westward to just east of the ops box. P-3 made extensive measurements east of Diego Garcia dropping arrays of dropsondes, AXBT/AXCTD in two regions of convective lines of varying age with some light stratiform precipitation occurrence. There were extensive cumulus cloudiness in the vicinity of Diego Garcia.

37

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF08 , 20111128 legs

flightDASFFMSuf. ImagingFVSDCE

7274

7678

80

-10-8

-6-4

-2

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

RF08 , 20111128 legs

Revelle

DG

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightDASFFMSuf. ImagingFVSDCE

38

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000RF08 , 20111128 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

7274

7678

80

-10-8

-6-4

-200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF08 , 20111128 expandables

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

39

Flight 9, November 30, 2011

On this flight, the operations box area was almost entirely cloud-free with what appeared to be middle and high level cloudiness associated with organized convection well to the northeast of the R/V Revelle. Vigorous convective complexes (on the order of 50 km upper anvil diameter) were chosen for the P-3 to operate between 10S and 15S. Convective modules were performed near the strong convective lines and associated stratiform precipitation areas.

40

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF09 , 20111130 legs

flightDCSDCEFLXRCE

7274

7678

80

-12-10-8-6-4-20

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

RF09 , 20111130 legs

Revelle

DG

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightDCSDCEFLXRCE

41

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000RF09 , 20111130 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

7274

7678

80

-12-10-8-6-4-200

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

longitude (deg)

Mirai

RF09 , 20111130 expandables

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

Revelle

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

42

Flight 10, December 4, 2011

The DYNAMO operations box was generally dominated by clear skies with important exceptions being isolated convection and a small clustered area of convection in the vicinity of Diego Garcia, vigorously flown by the P-3. The P-3 performed several extensive sampling modules over this convective area during the flight. Sampling covered a larger area than the convection to capture isolated convections and their environment.

In addition to these convective cells (presumably associated with an upper level TUT, scattered cirrus streamers can be seen in visible imagery, mainly across the southern half of the ops box. Well to the southwest of Diego Garcia, a weak tropical cyclone is evident. Overall, however, a relative dearth of cumulus cloudiness is apparent on this day.

43

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF10 , 20111204 legs

flightFVS1FVS2DASFFMIsland Effect 1Island Effect2DCE

72 74 76 78 80-8

-6-4

-2

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF10 , 20111204 legs

DG

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightFVS1FVS2DASFFMIsland Effect 1Island Effect2DCE

44

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500RF10 , 20111204 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

72

74

76

78

80

-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-100

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

longitude (deg)

Mirai

Diego Garcia

RF10 , 20111204 expandables

latitude (deg)

Revelle

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

45

Flight 11, December 8, 2011

The DYNAMO ops box on this flight again displayed a pronounced absence of cloudiness with mainly clear skies and only the smallest occasional cumulus cells. Scattered isolate convection and few plumes of cirriform cloud were well south of the ops box, perhaps brushing the vicinity of R/V Mirai to the southeast.

To the north of the ops box (the line from GAN to R/V Revelle) scattered areas of clustered cumuliform cloud and embedded convection can be seen. The P-3 transited directly to the vicinity of Gan where extensive convective modules were performed along the leading edge of this convective environment to the north of the almost entirely clear-sky environment covering most of the ops box. This measurements was coordinated with the French Falcon.

46

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF11 , 20111208 legs

flightRCE1RCE2C1Surf. ImagingFlat Descending

72 74 76 78 80

-8-6

-4-2

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

Revelle

longitude (deg)

RF11 , 20111208 legs

DG

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightRCE1RCE2C1Surf. ImagingFlat Descending

47

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000RF11 , 20111208 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXBT

7274

7678

80

-8-6

-4-2

00

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Diego Garcia

RF11 , 20111208 expandables

Revelle

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXBT

48

Flight 12, December 13, 2011

On this final flight, generally convective conditions existed near and east of previous location of R/V Revelle with just scattered and disorganized convection occurring near and west of Diego Garcia where the P-3 operated several maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of the island, performing drops at various levels below 700 mb. A couple of showers during the day especially at takeoff; otherwise, the P-3 operated in rain-free conditions.

49

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

RF12 , 20111213 legs

flightREIGL boresitingFCSISLAND effectFlat DescentTurb Maneuver

70 72 74 76 78 80-8

-6-4

-2

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Mirai

Revelle

longitude (deg)

RF12 , 20111213 legs

DG

Gan

latitude (deg)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightREIGL boresitingFCSIsland EffectFlat DescentTurb Maneuver

50

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500RF12 , 20111213 expandables

Time (hour, UTC)

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT

72 74 76 78 80

-8-6

-4-2

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Mirai

longitude (deg)

Revelle

RF12 , 20111213 expandables

Diego Garcia

latitude (deg)

Gan

Hei

ght (

m)

flightdropsondeAXCTDAXBT